Vacuum-operated pumping device



Feb; 18, 1930. c. s. BURTON 1,747,575

VACUUM OPERATED PUMPING DEVICE Filed June 2, 1928 @Mezz for m 7 @Mmm l atented Feb. 18, 1930 CHARLES S. BURTON, F OAK IPARK, ILLINOIS VACUUM-OPERATED PUMPING DEVICE Application filed June 2,1928. Serial No. 282,453.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an improved construction of a pumping device suitable for lifting liquid from a low level source for supplying a receptacle at a higher level from which it may flow by gravity to the place of consumption, as for eX- ample, the carbureter of an internal combustion engine, the liquid lifted being fuel for the engine. More specifically the purpose is to accomplish such lifting or pumping. by means of suction, of which the source in the case of a device employed for supplying fuel to an internal combustion engine will be the intake manifold of the engine. And in such case the invention has the more specific purpose of making it possible to dispense with any valve control of the suction connection. The invention for these general and specific purposes consists in the elements and features of construction shown and described as indicated in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a vacuum fuel feeding device embodying this inven-' tion.

Figure 2 is a section at the line 2-2 on Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a valve device which is characteristic of the invention. 1

The construction shown in the drawings consists of the reservoir or liquid accumulating chamber, A, within which there is suspended at the upper part a liquid receiving chamber, hereinafter called the liquid receptacle, B, these two chambered members being secured together at their upper ends and the liquid receptacle, B, being closed at the top, by a cap plate, C, which is provided with a suction port, 20, arranged for pipe connection with a source of suction, as the intake manifold of the engine served, and a fuel inlet port 30 arranged for pipe connection with a source of liquid to be lifted, as liquid fuel for supplying the engine. The cap plate, 0, affords means also fora valve-controlled atmosphere inlet port; and for economy of construction and convenience of assembling, the cap plate comprises a separable relatively thin plate member, 50, which is mounted on the top of the cast member, C, of the cap plate, closing a circular aperture,

'0, in the latter, and being secured to said cast member by screws, 54, with an interveninggasket, 55, for making the joint between the two parts of the cap plate substantially air 7 tight. The plate, 50, has a slit, 51, which constitutes the atmosphere inlet port; and this port is controlled by a valve member, 60, hereinafter more particularly described. The receptacle, C, has atthe bottom a liquid outletvthrough an angle or elbow fitting, 40, whose discharge aperture, 41, is controlled by an exteriorly applied valve, 42, adapted to beopened by liquid outflow from the receptacle and normally seated by gravity and adapted to be held seated against liquid outflow by suction when the receptacle is inthe condition of partial vacuum or sub-atmospheric pressure, which condition it will be understood will result from open suction connection of the receptacle with the source of suction. V 1

A float, 70,'in the receptacle is guided on a rod, 80, which at its upper end has, lost motion connection by a pivot terminal,v as

seen at 81, with the valve, 60, by means of a slotted lug, 61, which projects from the under side of the valve through the slit, 51, which constitutes the atmosphere inlet port; and the rod, 8O, has a finger, 82, which juts 01f from it at ashort distance below the pivot terminal, 81, which engages the slot of the lug, 61, said finger, 82, projecting through the slit, 51, at the extreme narrow end of the latter, for encounter with the end portion of the valve, The purpose of this particular tain distance above the eye; by this means the float is adapted to move vertically along the rod for the distance which separates the two stops, 83 and 84.

, The slit, 51, constituting the atmosphere inlet is desirably tapered in width from very narrow dimension at one end to several times the dimension at the other end; and in forming the slit, the'marginal portion is struck up from the plate, 50, to form by the upper edge of saidi.upstruck'*margin; the seat for the valve,---60', whichb istapered correspondingly to the taper of the slit.

portion, is made of quite thin and oflvery resiliently flexible metal as: watch.- spring;-

steel; but forconvenience of mounting it,

its pivoted end portion is a, sheetmetal'sstamp;;v

ing, 60 which is formed from a blank,

as -may be understood frbmEigure 3, folded I to afford a short" attaching portion', 60 for the spring portion ,--6'0,"o1f the valve, at a slightly acute angle t'oxan'upstanding arm,

60 carrying atits upper enda weight 64,

and isiformed with" lug portions,-60, 60, which are folded upat right angles to the portion; 60, for receivinga pivot pin', 63,

whi'c-h'isinserted through'the side Wallsof' 11; housing or hood,'90,' whichisa sheet metal stamping of simplerectan'gular form dimen-, sione'd forvenclosing the valve with freedonr of "movement for opening and closing, said walls of'thehoodh V The operation of "the structure described maybe understood to be as follows:

The=receptacle-being connected at by is in contact with the under side of the cause the latter to'snap straight andopenthe pipe leading from \a; source of liquid, and at 20 by-apipeleading from a--sourceof suction, a condition of partialvacuumwr sub atmospheric pressure llS- 'developed ini the re cept acle, 13', causing liquid to be lifted from the-liquid. source and discharged-into the receptacle, IB, eventually filling the receptacle-" to a depth at which thefloat, I 70, will be 'upheld" at a position shown in dotted lined n Figure 1," bringing-theeye, 72 ,on the;float, up against the 1 upper stop, 84, on .the; rod,

80, and liftingthe roduntil the finger, 82,

springevalve, 60," at' the narrower thin end of the latter, where said narrowend is exposed at the narrow'righthandend portion a of theJslOt, -'51, which constitutes the atmosphere port.

" understood, is -nowheld forcibly on its seat- The spring valve, it will be Joy the excess of atmosphere press-ureat; the

ing' on theme'latively large ar ea 'of the'spring' outer side over the reduced pressure in the receptacle; and this"-excess-- pressure operat valve, tends to-exceed the buoyant-Qvalue of the float-,- even when the -latter I is fully sub? merged, as it will become if the-atmosphere This; valve member, 60, at least as .to-its'narrower. end,

to the receptacle. But though this pressure over the large area of the valve may exceed the buoyancy of the submerged float, the latter will be suificient to upwardly'flex the thin narrow resiliently flexible right hand end portion ofthe spring valve,:as seen in'dotted line-at: 60 in Figure 1; and thereby atmospheric, pressure is admitted to the receptacle, reducing. the suctionhold on the valve; and

at some point 'early' in the buoyant upward ;actio11;ot--;the-float,i the flexure of said end portion of the spring valve, 60, will have opened-the. atmosphere port far enough, to reduce the suction hold and the resiliency of'the spring valve comingiinto: action :for straightening the valve, said valve (will, snap upand straighten, as seenin dotted line. at

60'- in Figure 1.; and'in doing so, it willcause the uprightarm, 60 to. carry its weighted; upper end over past the verticalplane of the pivot, to a position at which it will overbale.

ance the valve and cause the latter toxswing.

up to the limit permittedby thelength'of the slot'of the lug, 61, or to the: top of'thehood 'whichever distance is greater; and thusthe. atmosphere port will be fully opened admits ting air tor-the receptacle so far in'excess of the amount withdrawn by thesuction. that,

the liquid which has been lifted byitheosuc- 42, by the vacuum. developed in the recepe tacle'while the atmospherelvalve was closed-,- will 'nolOnger be upheld, but'will flow: out/ by gravity through the outlet port, 4:1,;until; i the depth of liquid in the receptacle is only: i

that which can be upheld by the-low degree of vacuumresulting from the suction 0 ea 5,9531 tion'and upheld from outflow past the'valve,

ating through the suction port, 20, whic is,

very small in comparison with the size of the;

full 'openr atmosphere port, the latter. being many times larger thansaid suction portaj In, practice the atmosphere port, 51, and

thentotal eflective area: of the. atmospherevalve, 60, may be very .easily'made fifty to;

onehundredi times the efiective area of the suction port; and the extent of theQnarrow endportion: of the valve whichowillbe iflexed upby 'the buoyant effort of the floatgislsufe ficient to open enoughofxtheatmosphere'port j 3 to reduce the vacuumtoia degreeat which the resilient reaction of the spring valve, 60,,will

entire arear'of the atmosphere port.

vWhen the vacuum. isthus broken, permit,-; ting: the liquid to discharge, as described,.the

lowering of the float lowers the'rod,.80, until the pivot terminal, 81, reaches :theend. of the hold the rod, 80, while the liquidvlevel continues to fall and the float vcontinues to. de-

scendiunti'l the eye,i72'i ,,encounters;the lower,

stop, 83, on the rod and pulls the valve, rocking its weighted arm back past the vertical position so that the valve is lowered to its seat and held seated by gravity and the residue of suction in the receptacle. And the continuing suction thus builds up the vacuum as before, and causes the receptacle to be refilled with liquid, and the cycle of the action, as described, is then repeated.

I claim:

1. In a construction for the purpose indicated, in combination with a receptacle for liquid having connections for receiving liquid from a liquid source and connections with a source of suction, and having an atmosphere inlet port, a valve for controlling said port, an outlet for the liquid and a valve controlling said outlet arranged to open in the direction for outflowand adapted to be seated by suction, a float in the chamber and a rod extending therefrom for actuating the atmosphere controlling valve, the atmosphere port being a relatively long narrow slit in the chamber wall, the valve for controlling it being a light flat flexibly resilient strip lodged at the outer side of the slit and seating on the down on the valve-actuating rod and said rod having stops which limit said up and down movement of the float, the rod having a lost motion connection with the valve arranged for such lost motion in the up and down movement of the rod, the Valve being adapted'for holding itself at open position by gravity and at said position supportin the rod..

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Chicago, Illinois, this 29th day of May, 1928.

CHARLES S. BURTON.

margin thereof, and means retaining the valve against edgewise displacement from said seat, the rod having a terminal protruding through the slot at one extremity of the latter for encounter with the resilient valve strip at the corresponding end portion of the latter, said valve strip at that end portion being sufliciently flexible to be flexed away from its loclgement on the margin of the slit for a relatively short portion of the length of the latter, while the remainder of the length is held to the seat by the atmosphere pressure.

2. In the construction defined in claim 1, the valve strip being pivoted at the end remote from that at which the float-actuated means encounters it, and said member having a lost motion connection with the valve at the under side at a point intermediate its pivot and the point of said encounter.

3. In the construction defined in claim 1, the valve strip being pivoted at the end remote from that at which it is encountered for flexing it for opening, and having a weighted arm extending upwardly from its pivot in direction to be over-weighted toward the encountered end of the valve at seated position of the latter, and to be over-weighted in the opposite direction at the opened and straight ened position of the valve.

4. In the construction defined in claim 1, the float being mounted for sliding up and down on the valve-actuating rod and said rod having stops which limit said up and down movement of the float, the rod having a lost motion connection with the valve arranged for such last motion in the up and down movement of the rod.

5. In the construction defined in claim 1, the float being mounted for sliding up and 

